Bendgate

The current kerfuffle in mobile technology goes by the name “Bendgate” (or my favorite, “Bendghazi”), in which a number of users have reported that their brand-new iPhone 6 Plus devices would have a tendency to warp and bend while in their pockets.

I’ll leave it to tech videographer extraordinaire Marcus Brownlee to explain it in detail:

In response, the Apple PR machine has given tours of their iPhone torture-testing facilities:

No Galaxy Note Edge for you!

The phablet, which boasted a screen that curved around its right edge, with the curve acting as a second screen that could be viewed from its side, is a limited edition device whose primary purpose is simply to, as PC World puts it, “scream ‘First!'”. According to them, there will be limited sales in South Korea next month, and only way you’ll have a chance of getting one in the U.S. is either by being very lucky or knowing someone high up in Samsung US.

FBI director “very concerned” about new Apple and Google smartphone privacy features

In response to announcements from Apple and Google about enabling encryption on their mobile operating systems that would keep out both thieves and law enforcement, FBI director James Comey expressed his concern:

“I like and believe very much that we should have to obtain a warrant from an independent judge to be able to take the content of anyone’s closet or their smart phone. The notion that someone would market a closet that could never be opened — even if it involves a case involving a child kidnapper and a court order — to me does not make any sense.”

If this fight sounds familiar, it’s because much of the 90s was spent on exactly this legal question, a fight that’s now known as the Crypto Wars. PGP founder Phil Zimmermann almost went to jail over it. Of course, because it was the 90s, the fight was over desktop hard drives rather than phones, but when the dust settled, the courts ruled it was completely legal and large, reputable companies like Microsoft and Apple started offering full-disk encryption services without anyone making a fuss about it. Julian Sanchez has a great rundown of how it happened and why it was a good decision, but the general punchline is that it’s hard to build a backdoor that can only be used by the good guys.

It should also be pointed out that Comey’s refreshing enthusiasm for warrants is not shared across all federal agencies. Surveillance of this type frequently happens under a much lower legal standard, whether it’s a subpoena, a National Security Letter or plain old FISC-approved bulk collection. In fact, programs like that are the biggest reason Apple implemented this encryption in the first place, trying to placate concerns over unauthorized government data collection. Unfortunately for Comey, just invoking kidnapped children isn’t enough to undo 20 years of legal precedent.